Globalisation and the shift towards a knowledge economy have made researchers among the most sought-after resources. International research mobility has been encouraged at policy levels and has remarkably increased in the past decade. Meanwhile, concerns of policy makers about the possible loss of such human capital are also rapidly growing. This…

With its origin in Greek where "diaspora" as a noun means "a dispersion" or as a verb means to "scatter about", the term is used in this paper to refer to the dispersion or scattering of Africans from their original African homeland and now live in countries other than their own. Indeed some Africans have dispersed…

The "brain drain" phenomenon is typically seen as a zero-sum game, where one party's gain is presumed to be another's drain. This corresponds to deep-seated assumptions about what is "home" and what is "away". This article challenges the view, driven by much "brain drain" literature, that the dynamic is an…

The number of highly skilled Africans leaving their country of origin, many with PhDs, has reached disturbing proportions. Meanwhile, Africa spends billions per year to fill the capacity gaps that are created by the exodus of the highly skilled. In Africa, Ethiopia ranked first in terms of rate of loss of human capital. Many African governments…

The author analyzes some issues on the cost of emigration to the countries of origin and some policy implications. Attention is focused on how the supply of skilled workers is affected by migration. The article also discusses distortion of the free market and presents a profile of Asian contract workers. (CT)

Data on rural-urban differences in access to telecommunications technology suggest that the U.S. "digital divide" is diminishing. However, major shortcomings in telecommunications infrastructure persist in rural America, and more serious barriers to rural development are related to human capital shortages. These may be resolved in some…

This report evaluates the evidence on how migration may promote or hinder development in countries of origin, and explores possible win-win solutions for both sending and receiving countries. The analysis of recent OECD data of foreign-born nationals into Europe documents the presence of multiple migration patterns and reveals that the EU lags…